Sarah Lawrence College | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Katie

Class: Sophomore
Major:
Gender: F

High School: The Calhoun School
Transfer Student: Y

Big Picture

I love that the people here are, for the most part, incredibly open minded. I came in as a transfer student from a HORRIBLE place called Eckerd College, where everyone was a rich, spoiled white kid who had no concept of self and who spent their time sitting on there asses, drinking, smoking, and letting their brain cells disintegrate into blobs of narrow-minded waste. Sorry if I sound vindictive. I am. At Sarah Lawrence, however, people are very progressive in their though, very accepting of difference and diversity, and willing to spend hours discussing and debating what they're learning. The intellectual stimulation here is not to be believed. The people I've met here are changing my life and I love them for it. The one thing about Sarah Lawrence that's important to note, however, is that you HAVE to (you MUST!!!) be a very self-motivated individual. This school is not the ideal place for someone who prefers the regular structure of a typical university or college. You think you have a lot of free time, but you really don't. It's important to know how to manage your time and to pace yourself. You can definitely go for days without doing work, but it will be obvious when you come to your conference with no knowledge and no material for discussion. My advice: alot yourself specific hours in the day where you subject yourself to reading/writing/studying/or just simply cogitating/ruminating about one of your concentrations.

Academic Life

The class structure of Sarah Lawrence is very unique. You have your regular class, and then your conference class. The conference is something the student takes into his/her own hands and explores. It can be anything from a research paper to a performance piece to a series of songs, a CD, a psychological study, a podcast creation, anything. You're choice. Amazing. It's great, but it's a lot of work and you have to be prepared to take it on.

Student Body

It seems that the majority of students here are politcally involved and interested. It's very motivating to be around. I must say, however, I have yet to meet a republican. That's fine, though. I hope it stays this way. There is also a large LGBT community. It's a beautiful thing, in my opinion. Some people complain that there's too many hipsters, but it all depends where you look. I've met people from all different walks of life here. A common thread in every student here is the desire to learn, a slight quirkiness in some fashion, and a large intellectual capacity.